Samuel Taylor Coleridge was one of the most prominent poets of literary Romanticism, and his most famous poem, “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is a prime example of this movement’s style and concerns. Coleridge’s poem tells of an old seafarer who has returned from a harrowing voyage. The mariner stops a guest entering a wedding to share with him his story of escaping death and learning to value every living thing. The elements of Romanticism found in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” include strong images of the supernatural and nature, as well as a deep thread of spirituality, all explored in an experimental form.

Supernatural Elements

Coleridge’s mariner character narrates a story replete with superstitions and supernatural occurrences commonly believed by seafaring folk. After the albatross of the poem leads the mariner’s ship to safety from the icy Antarctic waters, the ship’s crew labels the bird a good luck charm. When the mariner kills the albatross, the crew is horrified, believing such a crime will result in punishment from the powers of the sea. They are soon proved right, as spirits and supernatural forces send them off-course, and they run out of drinking water. To compensate for the mariner’s crime, the force him to wear the dead albatross around his neck. In doing this, however, the crew dooms themselves, while protecting the mariner from death.

Images of Nature

As with other Romantics such as his contemporary and friend William Wordsworth, Coleridge describes images from nature with a great attention to detail. In the poem, the mariner describes the ship’s voyage through stormy waters, often giving natural objects such as the wind, ice and water human qualities. In a sense, the natural elements become characters in the poem. Nowhere is this more clear than with the image of the albatross, which the mariner describes in great detail both during the bird’s life, and following its death at his own hand.

Religion and Spirituality

"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” is shot through with images of Christian spirituality. The albatross is originally described as a Christ-like savior swooping into the sailors’ view so as to lead them to salvation. When the albatross is killed by the titular mariner, this sailor is viewed as a Judas-like character, a betrayer of the bird’s benevolence. The mariner’s story is told within a framing narrative about a wedding, concluding with the mariner’s advice that “He prayeth best, who loveth best / All things both great and small,” suggesting that salvation comes not just from joining and loving our fellow humans, but also joining and loving “both man and bird and beast.”

Formal Experimentation

Among the formal experiments Coleridge deployed when composing “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” perhaps the most prevalent is the “story within a story” frame he establishes in the poem. Though the mariner’s story is the primary narrative of the poem, it is told within a framing narrative of a wedding; the mariner stops a wedding guest before entering the ceremony to tell that guest his story about the albatross. Additionally, Coleridge builds the long poem through a series of smaller, sectioned poems. These poems can stand alone, but are imbued with richer significance when read in tandem with all the other sections of the poem.

References

About the Author

Samuel Hamilton has been writing since 2002. His work has appeared in “The Penn,” “The Antithesis,” “New Growth Arts Review" and “Deek” magazine. Hamilton holds a Master of Arts in English education from the University of Pittsburgh, and a Master of Arts in composition from the University of Florida.